(Bloomberg) -- China has pledged to encourage more research in gene and cell therapies at the country’s biotech hub in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, in the latest bid to bolster the country’s standing at the cutting edge of global drug research.
The latest effort seeks to make Suzhou — home to thousands of biotechs — an even more attractive place for multinational biopharma groups to invest, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement Thursday.
The plan to boost gene and cell therapy researches in Suzhou came as authorities previously opened up foreign investment into these areas at the so-called free trade zones in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou Province. Before the government dismantled those restrictions in September, overseas companies could neither conduct nor fund such work locally.
The eastern Chinese city was its first biotech hub in the 2000s and boasts of major local players like Innovent Biologics Inc, CStone Pharmaceuticals and Gracell Biotechnologies, which was acquired by AstraZeneca Plc last year.
Gene therapy, which seeks to cure inherited diseases by replacing faulty cells, is a promising area of biomedical research that can deliver miracle cures for rare life-threatening diseases. China is seeking to catch up with the US and Europe, with hopes that the liberalization measures could entice multinational companies to either set up shop locally or collaborate and invest in local companies.
The ultimate hope is for China’s biotech innovation to prove competitive on the global stage. The new policies should also help homegrown biotechs in Suzhou “go out” to the world, including through collaboration with Belt and Road countries, according to the ministry.
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